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Thursday, May 24, 2007
Ind. Courts - More on "Courtroom camera plan fizzles"
A March 22, 2007 Indianapolis Star story was headlined "Courtroom camera plan fizzles." Judges, the prosecution and defense all have veto power over whether cameras will be permitted in any case. As a result, the Star reported: "Halfway through the pilot project, Indianapolis media requests have met rejection all but three times; in other cities, only two requests have succeeded."
Today, Emily Udell of the AP reports:
The Indiana Supreme Court has rejected a request to loosen the rules of a pilot program allowing cameras in local [trial] courtrooms, a move that supporters of media access said will require redoubled efforts to generate test cases before the project's end.The Indiana Broadcasters Association sent a letter to the court in January, asking the justices to amend the program's rules to give trial court judges sole discretion on whether to permit cameras in their courtrooms. Only five test cases had been recorded since the project was launched last July. * * *
Kevin Finch, news director at WISH-TV in Indianapolis and media coordinator for a Marion County court, said 20 requests to cover proceedings in that court were denied during March.
More than 350 requests have been denied since the start of the project. In most cases, defense attorneys said their clients did not want to be photographed or filmed.
"We just want a few attorneys to see that justice can be done, that it could be compatible with a small camera at the back of the room," Finch said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 24, 2007 09:20 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts